Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Susan Sipal's blog, Southern Fried Wiccan, is chiefly themed around Harry Potter and the significance of the writing and other aspects of the Harry Potter universe.The appearance of Southern Fried Wiccan is very mystical in a magical enchanting sort of way. The background is a ghostly blue forest and the headline at the top is what seems to be of a most beautiful original design. The text is at just the right size for perfect readability without being too large, and it's black on white so the words absolutely pop.

Each blog post is labeled in large red text that is easily readable. The labels do appear to be consistently longer than one would think. For example: Withholding Backstory to Ensnare Readers' Interest with Example from Harry Potter.In Sipal's post, Withholding Backstory to Ensnare Readers' Interest with Example from Harry Potter, she describes the necessity of holding back vital information about a specific character's background. This is important to do because it leaves the audience wondering, hungry for what the answer might be later. Though it's important to leave some mystery it is also important not confuse the audience with a poor runty amount of information that they have nothing to go off of. They have to find a balance between the two that will leave the audience desperate to flip to the next page for more.There are a few things hyperlinked in red on this post, though not many for this is more of an experience/credible opinion piece of writing. One can tell that the writer is fairly experienced in fiction writing and plot/character development by the use of language.The comments are long, intelligent, and civilized, giving personal opinion and insight on the topic of the post.

This is a very unique and well rounded blog with a lot of interesting view points on Harry Potter and fiction writing. From just a couple of the posts that I read I know that I left more intelligent and more thoughtful than when I began.

Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874, in the large city of Budapest, Hungary.

At the age of four his family traveled to the United States where they settled in the town of Applegate, Wisconsin.

When he was nine years old, Erik (now with the spelling Erich) appeared in his first public appearance as a trapeze artist, with the title "Erich, Prince of the Air."

At the debut of his magician career in 1894, Erik Weisz changed his name to Harry Houdini, combining a derivative of his childhood nickname "Ehrie" and Houdini from his idol the French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin.

Houdini found companionship with the man Jack Hayman, and they worked as partners together for their magic act calling themselves, "The Houdini Brothers." Later Hayman was replaced by Houdini's younger brother Theo.

Houdini's career was hard in the beginning. According to the New York Times he was able to get work in a circus with the title "The Wild Man." He also began working to master card tricks eventually nicknaming himself "The King of Cards."Later in 1894, Houdini met Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, a fellow magician. The two of them married and she replaced Theo in the Houdini Brothers, the duo now named, "The Houdini's."

As Houdini grew and became more famous he became notoriously known for being an escape artist. He was known around the world as "The Handcuff King." Many of his famous tricks include:

Houdini died on October 31, 1926 due to peritonitis from a ruptured spleen. As the story goes, Houdini was famous for being able to take punches to the stomach without injury because of his athletic history. After a night of performing, a college student approached him and asked if the rumors about his stomach were true. When Houdini said yes, the student then punched him in the stomach multiple times without warning. Because he was unable to prepare his stomach muscles for the punches, Houdini suffered from great pain. The story then goes that the punches from the college student were the reason for his spleen to rupture, therefore responsible for his death.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

That
afternoon Anthony set up Lucy’s cage in the corner of his bedroom. They hadn't moved in any of the big furniture into the house yet. It was all still piled in precarious stacks
on the front porch, leaning against the railing, and strewn across the
front steps. The rest were still incarcerated in frumpy tearing cardboard boxes
scattered aimlessly around the living room and kitchen floor; leaving Anthony
with only his mattress and a duffel bag full of clothes.

He ignored the canary for most of
the afternoon as he and his father moved boxes into the house.
Sometimes he would peak into his bedroom to see what the bird was doing, but it
was rarely doing anything at all other than sleeping, its little head tucked oddly backwards
under its wing almost as if its neck were broken. After a while Anthony
wondered if he should make sure it was still breathing.

He peeked into his room. The sky was
pink and orange outside his window, the color of rainbow sherbet ice cream. A cascade of
evening light showered the bird cage encasing the canary in what appeared to be
robes of pure and twinkling gold.

Anthony took a step closer. Besides
the sparkling light from the window, the canary was completely limp, a golden
statue, perched almost like a saintly angel beseeching God.

Anthony approached the cage, peering
in between the spindly golden bars. Could it really be dead? He thought, taking a closer look. He had only just
bought it this morning. As soon as he’d gotten home he had made sure that it
had enough food and enough water.

That
night Anthony lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. He
wondered about the canary sleeping in the corner of his room; silent, unmoving. He thought about it all
through supper, he could see the effigy plainly in his soup, and when he was brushing his teeth, the image kept
emerging before his eyes in a flash gold, the canary, its neck wedged abnormally backwards under its wing, like a plastic child's toy.Anthony thought about the bird
most of the night as he tossed and turned under his covers. Every once
in a while he would sneak a glance over towards the cage. The canary was
always sleeping, its head turned backwards as if its neck were broken,
and a penetrating chill would clamber up his spine making him shrivel
back down underneath his blankets.It was early in the morning when Anthony finally drifted off to sleep. He closed his eyes, and it felt heavenly. BANG!The
sound was like a gunshot, ricocheting through the house, rattling the
windows and slamming his bedroom door shut with a thundering blast.Immediately, Anthony's eyes shot open. He ripped the covers from his body and sprung from his mattress, his heart racing.The
canary--Lucy--as the goblin Plancka had called him, looked at him, pausing tentatively, his body stiff, feathers on end, like an alley cat poised to attack. It hadn't moved for so long, and now suddenly Anthony could tell, the bird was glaring at him, angry, furious straight into his eyes--through him, really, and out on the other side. They were glowing, beautiful, red as roses are. Slowly the bird opened its beak and
Anthony could see its slithering black tongue, and he watched as it began to scream.The
sound was shrill paralleling the allegorical shriek of a fledgling banshee. Anthony
dropped to his knees and clapped his hands over his ears, the sound
reverberating up the very nods of his spine into his eyes as if he were being
repeatedly stabbed over and over with a hot fire poker.He crawled in a maniacal daze
across the bedroom floor, cradling his face in his hands. He
could barely see, his eyes stinging, streaming hot tears until he could barely breathe.He reached the door, raking at it with his fingers until he found the knob. He flung it open, and dove for the other side, slamming it
shut behind him killing the sound almost immediately.Silence.Anthony had never heard such thing before, not like this, not so--abrupt. Breathing hard, he clutched his belly, sick rolling back and forth, slowly making its way up his body. He rested his head against his knees, black spots engulfing his vision. He didn't know what was happening. The canary--its eyes, its eyes were pierced into his memory; red, glowing. And that scream.He waited until his vision cleared before he lifted his head. Anthony
dragged himself into the bathroom. He snatched the hand towel from the
bar next to the sink and pressed it to his face. He was afraid to look
at himself in the mirror, so he stood with his head down, his fingers
trembling. He didn't want to see the blood.But there
it was, dribbling down the side of his wrist leaving a rosy red tear
trail down his arm. He watched as a single bead dripped from his skin
and fell to the white linoleum floor. The image reminded Anthony of the American film, American Beauty, where the red and the rose pedal were used as
piercing objects to signify a person's life force inside them.It
was almost as if his mind had separated from his body. No matter how
much he did not want to look into the mirror, he felt his head slowly
rise and his eyes find the polished glass.Anthony
had not cried in a very long time, not since his mother left his dad
four and a half years ago. He remembered it as if it had happened an
hour ago, the pain in his chest, in his heart, the tightness, like he
was being squeezed by a boa constrictor. He felt it now, slithering up
his throat and settling into a coiled lump. As he gazed at himself in
the mirror he could see it plainly, the grief flowing from the creature
nestled behind his eyes.He touched his cheek, his tears soaking into the pads of his fingers; rosy red.Anthony
wanted to throw up. He clutched the sides of the sink and wretched into
the white porcelain. Gulping for air, he swept the splattered orange
sick from his cheeks with the corner of his shirt sleeve, and buried his
nose into the towel. In his mind he heard the bird shriek, and he knew that as soon as he opened his bedroom door the canary would be sitting there, perched atop its tiny swing, its head twisted backwards as if its neck were broken, as if nothing had happened.

"His name is Lucy.""His name is Lucy?" Anthony asked, raising an eyebrow. The goblin nodded. "But that's a girl's name?""So it is," the goblin agreed, patting the canary on the top of the head. "Feel free to give him a new one if you'd like.""How much is he?" Anthony questioned feeling inside his coat pockets for some pounds. "Something reasonable I hope."The goblin looked him up and down, taking into account his appearance, his clothes, his hair, everything. "Are you sure you want this bird?" he asked, slowly. "Absolutely sure?""Yes.""Then he's yours, free of charge."

***

Anthony's dad was under a lot of stress. So much so that he was beginning to tear his hair out. He was shedding all over the steering wheel on their drive to Ipswich from London early that morning, that Anthony was starting to worry.He remembered a long time ago when he'd visit his grandparent's home in Ipswich, the tiny little zebra finch Henry, with its little grey and white body and orange beak, bobbing around in its silver wire cage like a silly fairy. He'd follow Anthony around the house all day like a puppy, and he'd laugh as the bird beeped and chirped at him, climbing all over his shoulders, hopping on top of his head, and ruffling his feathers.After his grandmother passed, his grandfather gave Henry away to the neighbor children down the street. It broke Anthony's heart to see the little bird go. Even after his grandfather's numerous explanations, he could never really understand his reasoning behind getting rid of Henry. He was such a perfect tiny little guy. It was almost cruel.Just recently Anthony's grandfather had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and his father had to sell the house in London to take care of him in Ipswich. At the time Anthony didn't know how he felt about the situation. He loved his grandfather, of course he did, he was family, but no matter what, he always had that hole in his heart. The one that Henry left when he was taken away. For that, he resented his grandfather.The thought of seeing his grandfather again brought back Anthony's memories of Henry. His father seemed to sense this in him. He knew that moving was hard for Anthony, and the resentment bestowed in his heart, like a black bug. That's why he offered Anthony a gift: a zebra finch of his very own.

***

Animal House was scrawled in red calligraphy across the sign hanging above the front door. A little eerie, Anthony had to admit, but he was willing to shrug it off, for the itch of possessing a zebra finch of his very own was almost more than he could bear. A tiny bell tinkled over Anthony's head as he eased open the front door of the Animal House. Almost immediately a man appeared before him, grinning orange teeth, his dark leathery skin pulled tight across his face like a lizard. He wore lavish robes of brilliant turquoise draped around his gaunt shoulders. He looked like a goblin out of a fairy tale."Welcome to the Animal House," the goblin smirked. "You may call me Mr. Plancka.""Right." Anthony hesitated. Where had the man come from? He appeared out of nowhere, almost as if he knew Anthony was coming.The place was circular to his surprise, with a black and white checkered linoleum floor and a long hanging crystal chandelier. Large red castle bird cages lined the curved walls encasing the room
in something familiar to a jail cell. Stacks of green bird feed bags lay
piled on the counter, spilling seeds and peanuts onto the veiny polished
marble. Anthony read the label composed into one of the green sacks: Bird Bait.He got the strange sensation that he was standing in the middle of a giant chess board.Birds.Anthony shoved his fists into his jeans and slowly walked farther into the store. The goblin, Plancka, watched him, a smile beginning to stretch across his lips. He made Anthony feel uncomfortable; uneasy.A kind of static had started in his stomach as soon as the bell tinkled over his head. Now, he looked over his shoulder at the goblin, and the static surged inside him.Birds, only birds.Anthony looked for the corners of the store. Possibly there was a hamster tower or or puppy dog cage that might be hiding in the cracks. But there were no corners, no cracks, no crevices. Only smooth edges. Smooth edges lined with birds.Curious? Where were the other animals?"Erm, Mr--" Anthony turned around. The goblin stood very close to him. So close in fact that Anthony could smell his cologne. At least he thought it was cologne. Actually, it smelled kind of like the Head and Shoulders brand shampoo that his grandfather wore."Plancka." The goblin finished Anthony's sentence. "Just Plancka.""Uh," Anthony scratched his head. "Where're the other--you know...the other animals?""Why? You're looking for a bird aren't you?" Plancka asked squinting at him with his golden goblin eyes."Well yeah, but...how did you--""You're looking for a bird; I have many birds," Plancka interrupted."Do you have zebra finches then?" Anthony asked, ignoring the goblin's rudeness.Plancka looked him up and down, as if what he'd said something bizarre. Anthony felt very uncomfortable."No," he said finally, rubbing his fingers across the leathery skin of his cheek."Are you sure?" Anthony asked, wilted. "Couldn't you look in the back or something.""I only keep one bird in the back, boy. And he's no zebra finch."Anthony was taken aback. He hadn't expected for there to really be any animal in the back. The thought made the static in his stomach ripple dangerously. What kind of person keeps a living creature hidden away like that."You mind if I have a look?" he asked, despising the goblin even more than he had before.Plancka grinned, revealing his orange teeth. "Follow me," he said, and spun on his heel.Anthony followed the goblin to the far side of the Animal House, past a row of humungous colored parrots and white cockatoos with spiky yellow sprouts atop their heads. They reached a blood red shower curtain that Anthony had not noticed upon arrival. Plancka paused in front of the curtain as if to take a final breath."Why's there no door here?' Anthony asked curiously."Broke," Plancka said. "Shattered; split to bits. Nothing left but a pile of pencil shavings.""What happened?""Earthquake.""Huh." There was the static, fizzing in Anthony's stomach, popping and smacking like lighting. What kind of earthquake pulverizes a door but leaves its frame shiny and new?His
thoughts quickly vanished as Plancka peeled back the curtain.
Immediately the other birds began to screech and scream, banging against
their cages, nearly toppling them over. The goblin ushered Anthony past
the curtain grumbling to himself in a language Anthony did not
understand, and flung the thing closed behind him. Almost instantly the
birds were silent. All Anthony could hear was the rapid thumping of his
own heart, like a battering ram against his chest.Plancka turned, and at the same time so did Anthony. In front of them stood a domed bird cage with a red silk sheet draped over the top. With one clean sweep of his hand Plancka whipped away the sheet.Perched atop the single metal swing inside the cage sat a tiny bird the color of a yellow marigold flower."Is
that a canary?" Anthony asked taking a closer look. Plancka nodded
morosely, his eyes boring into the tiny creature. "He's a little beauty isn't he," Plancka whispered. "His name is Lucy."

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

In the highly effective book, Mark Wilson’s Complete Course
In Magic, the author, Mark Wilson, demonstrates how to perform many different
kinds of magic tricks. For example:

1. Card tricks

2. Money tricks

3. Rope tricks

4. Magical illusions

5. Household object tricks

Mark Wilson is most known as the magician on the 1955
television show Time For Magic as well as the 1960 television show Magic Land
of Allakazam. For several years he even acted as president of The Academy of
Magical Arts held at the mysterious Magic Castle in Hollywood California.

Despite just being informative, the book is also sprinkled
with a light cinnamon dust of awe and wonder; it’s as if one might peek behind
the curtain of a puppet show and spy the little man squatting underneath the
counter, his hands twiddling the cords and twine that are maneuvering the tiny
felt creature above his head into doing a tap dance or polka. It lets a person
see behind the curtain. It lets them see what’s really going on and understand
it.

The book is more of a guide than anything else. It is split
up into different chapters depending on the specific genre. It also describes
the steps needed to successfully perform a trick using numbered paragraphs and
illustrations to benefit the reader and help them understand exactly how the
trick would be executed. Some of the illustrations even show the distinct view
of what the magician should be seeing and what the audience should be seeing.
(Brilliant, I know.)

Several people on Amazon have given this book a fantastic
review, many rating it five out of five stars. The common agreement among these
reviews is that it is easy for amateur magicians to learn new tricks that
mesmerize the audience.

One customer said, "After a couple of hours of reading
and practicing, I was able to amaze my daughter and my wife." Another
customer explained, "Most importantly, each of the effects is "idiot
proofed" by extensive instructions and superb drawings."

As a consumer myself I can say that I truly enjoy this book
and am very thankful that I received it as a gift. After reading a smidgen of
it I have learned a couple coin tricks including how to roll a quarter across
my knuckles.

To be honest though there are only two things about this
book that may be considered "annoying."

1. It's big

About the size of a school issued textbook, only half as
thick, this book may be hard to carry around with you if you want to take it
places on the go. I carried it around in my bag for a while and was sorry to
see that the corners were starting to get folded and crumpled.

2. The pictures are in black and white.

Besides the front cover, this book's inner illustrations are
completely colorless. It is not as if this will have any true effect on the
consumer's ability to understand the material inside, but it is a tad
disappointing. Understandably though this book was originally published in 1975
when they did not have the technology to photoshop the heck out of picture.

Despite its few imperfections, I believe that this is a very
well rounded book that will delight and inspire any person wanting to become a
magician, learn a little thing or two, or just to show off to their friends
like a complete and utter boss.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Just recently a young boy was suspended from his school in Kermit, Texas for bragging to one of his school friends that he could make them become invisible with the fictional magical "one ring" from The Lord of the Rings book and movie trilogy.

The charge was apparently that of a "terroristic threat" towards the other child. The principal of the school, Roxanne Greer, was thought to have said to the father that "threats to another child’s safety would not be tolerated, even if they were make believe."

The father had explained that their family had just recently seen the newest installment of the Hobbit trilogy; The Hobbit the Battle of the Five Arms, and that is why their son was acting this way. His son was just pretending, as kids usually do.

In my opinion I think this story is unbelievably ridiculous. The child was just playing pretend. I used to play pretend just like this. I would run around as if I were an elf from the Lord of the Rings. I had an imaginary bow and arrow set and a sword and everything. I would go on adventures with my friend and we would have the time of our lives.

If anything I applaud the young boy for what he did. It's very refreshing when a young person can actually use their imagination to have fun rather than have their eyes glued to a screen for hours on end.

I will never understand why the principal did what she did. Even though I feel this way I do feel obligated to say that despite how ridiculous this is to me, I do respect everyone's right to their one opinion on the subject. Everyone sees the world differently and perhaps in the principal's eyes this truly was an act of terrorism.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Most of my posts will not be this tragic and disturbing, but I believe that this is a very important subject that needs to be addressed.

Just recently Tanzania, Africa's government issued a choke hold on witchcraft and the amount of kidnappings and killings of albino people in Tanzania, that are believed to be ghosts. It has been known that "witch doctors" would abduct albino people, mostly during the night, and murder them, cutting off their arms, legs, and other body parts to be used in their potions. These potions were thought to bring good luck and were sometimes sold to businessmen and politicians to make them wealthy and successful.

Tanzania's government issued a task force that will explore the murders and scrutinize the people thought to be involved, sending them to court.

Another problem that has risen is the false accusation of witchcraft in Tanzania. Some people have been taking advantage of the "choke hold," accusing innocent people of delving in witchcraft and having them brutally hunted down and executed. These people would use any excuse to accuse a person of using witchcraft, for example:

A little boy was killed by a hyena, but four elderly women were accused of using witchcraft on the animal to achieve the death. These women were gruesomely murdered with machetes and their bodies were burned.

People would also accuse another of practicing witchcraft for their own personal gain, for example:

If two siblings were given an inheritance from their family, one of the siblings could simply accuse the other of being a witch, therefore inheriting all of the sibling's money when that sibling was murdered under suspicion.

I think that the ban on witchcraft is necessary to move away from the horrible tragedies that have occurred, but also the ban itself is causing just as much calamity and mayhem. It's tricky to think of a solution to a problem like this when there are people out there that will take advantage of the situation as much as they can. Though this is true I believe that Tanzania will be able to find peace again.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

The thing about magic is that it's supposed to be a mystery. The audience is supposed to feel like they are in the presence of a wizard, warlock; magician. That's the fun. That's the reason why people choose to watch magicians perform. They want to be mystified, they want to be blown away; they want to believe that the impossible is possible.

Subconsciously you know what's really going on. You know that the magician is an expert. You know that they've rehearsed. You know that they've spent thousands of hours practicing one single trick. You know this, but in that moment you allow yourself to be swept away, to believe that you are in the presence of a sorcerer or a necromancer, and are witnessing their strange and beautiful finesse bestowed upon them only by some sort of all powerful god.

Do you know what really rattles my fillings? When the scoundrels out there ruin the magic. The scoundrels that shatter the pensive of mystery and bestow the truth upon the audience. These are the grinches of the magical world.

Of course these people are not actual grinches. They are not green, they do not have the urge to destroy Christmas, and they certainly do not break into peoples homes and steal the last can of Who Hash. Then again, there is no way for me to possibly be sure.

What I mean to say is that these scoundrels are just people. Now, I can understand to a certain degree why a person might reveal the secret behind a magic trick. They might be trying to subdue a crying child, they might have succumbed to peer pressure of some sort, or they might have just absentmindedly let it slip. These things are forgivable because you can understand the reasoning behind it. Nobody is perfect, and that is something that we can understand. What really creams my corn is when people reveal the magic trick because they are simply trying to spoil it for the audience. They are splintering the magic, the mystery, and above all else, the fun. What is magic without fun? A soggy pile of roast beast.

Djedi was legendarily known for decapitating the heads of animals and then reattaching them soon after. In the Westcar Papyrus he is summoned by King Cheops, the man known for building the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, and told to perform his trick. Djedi then takes a plump goose and severs its head, placing it far from its body. Then, using his magic, the goose was whole again. The king pressed Djedi to perform the trick again, and he did. He did it many times, and each time the king was amazed.

The oldest actual recorded magic trick is the "cups and balls" trick. It was originally thought to be a painting scrawled across the wall of an ancient Egyptian burial chamber, but later was debunked by magic historian Bill Palmer who believed that the painting was actually of bakers preparing bread. The cups and balls trick was recorded though by a Roman man from around 45 CE.

The cups and balls trick is performed with cups and balls, as you'd probably think. The cups would be placed upside down on a table and little balls would be placed on top of each one. Then the magician would make the balls disappear, appear under the cups, and hop back and forth between the cups.

Another magic trick similar to this is known as Thimblerig, or the shell game. This is the game where you need to keep your eye on the one object, traditionally it is a pea, and keep track of where it goes as the magician covers it with one of three shells and quickly mixes them all up together. This is commonly known to be executed by street performers.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

The article History of Magicians Timeline is a recorded time line of magic going back all the way to 1700 BC in Ancient Egypt, written by Julio Sevilla. The website is set up where the meat is placed in the middle in very short paragraph for and there is a list to click on on the left to direct you to other categories such as Magicians, Cardicians, Mentalists, etc. The purpose of the article is to trace the time line of magic by year and give a brief interesting fact on certain years. The main audience are students who are researching magic for a school project and other magicians who are interested in learning about where magic came from.

The article Magic and Superstition in ancient Egyptdescribes the connection between priest and magician during Ancient Egypt, written by Rand and Rose Flem-Ath. The website is set up where there is a string of categories at the top and a string of sub-categories underneath to click on. Also on the left side there is a list of active forum topics and underneath that there are a few suggested books about Ancient Egypt. The purpose of the article is to compare the similarities between an ancient Egyptian priest and and ancient Egyptian magician. The target audience is anyone interested in the history of magic.

The article Archeologist Find Ancient Greeks Practiced That Old--Very Old--Black Magic describes how some Ancient Greeks would practice black magic and perform "hexes" and "curses" on the dead and on their enemies, written by Lisa Orkin. The website is set up on one of the pages of the Los Angeles Times where there are other genres not associated with magic at the top like Sports, Entertainment, Business, etc, that you can click on. The purpose of the article is to report resent research about Ancient Greek black magic and the 55 Katares, ancient inscriptions, or curses, used by some Ancient Greek magicians. The main audience are fans of black magic, possibly members of Wicca, and anyone interested in Ancient Greece or Greek magic.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Every interest that has ever really swayed my attention has almost always had something to do with entertaining other people. For instance in college I plan to study film, theater, and creative writing. These things, for some reason, capture my attention. Possibly I crave some sort of appreciation from an audience, a kind of psychological need that has festered for years inside my stomach like an ulcer. More likely though, in my opinion, I think I just like to make people smile. I could be, on the other hand remarkably insane, there for, this psychological ulcer that is festering most disturbingly on the inside of my stomach will drive me over the edge until I am nothing more than a wallowing mass of slobbering bile. I do of course like to make people smile, so the final verdict on my true intentions will probably be confirmed by a string of expensive therapists with spindly mustaches and sweaty hands.

Magic has always been a mystery to me, like how it is for most people. I've seen dozens of videos of people performing illusions, whether its from America's Got Talent, Youtube, or movies like Now You See Me. I feel like magicians have this secret bond with one another, like the members of a cult. It's the secret that really intrigues me. When you know something that someone else doesn't, and no matter how hard they try to wrap their minds around it they just can't figure it out, it makes you feel special, I guess. The person's face when they are trying to figure it out is one of the main reasons why I love the idea of magic and illusions. Because to them it really is magic!

To be honest I don't really know all that much about magic. I do know that a lot of preparation goes into each illusion. I think that that is something that most people never really think about when a magician is performing. Also I know that misdirection is key. That really is just about half of the illusion; directing your attention over there so you don't see what I'm doing right here. Magician's are very clever, they know how to manipulate people like puppets on strings.

Going into this project I hope to delve deep into the history of magic and where it all started. I also want to look into famous magicians and their tricks that made them so famous in the first place. I want to look into mysteries and unexplained deaths because I think that that is where a lot of the excitement about magic comes from.